Brawl
by Saengen
Summary: A look into how exactly the Brawl characters all got together to be in the Smash Tourney. Starts with the Fire Emblem crew and continues to add on. Centers around Marth, mostly.
1. Altea

**Hello! First fanfic attempt. I found that the Brawl game seemed to have a **_**very**_** strange take on where all of the video game characters were in relationship to each other: basically, they all appeared to live on the same continent. In the first game, they all appeared to be toys; the gloves simulating possibly someone 'play fighting' with their toys. A similar story seemed to be told in Melee: that defeating the gloves turned the character into a little trophy. With Brawl, this causes a bit of confusion; after all, every game these characters came from had a unique map, none of which could be confused for this one. They obviously had to make a decision to leave their own lands to come to the Brawl-verse. **

**Anywho, enough babbling on. Hope you enjoy the story.**

Chapter 1 – Altea

"This map makes little sense." A thoughtful hand brushed over the worn parchment, brushing a strand of azure hair off of the map in question. It had been three years since Madeus had been felled; three years of shaky peace. At this point, the bordering countries no longer considered an attack on Altea to be an option. What had at first seemed an easy task now seemed daunting.

No one dared fight Prince Marth, not when he had personally slain Madeus, _twice_. And unfortunately for Marth, that led to boredom.

Boredom so intense, that he had started toying with the idea of going on an adventure. After all, if he found new, unclaimed territory, he could claim it for Altea. However, the map for Altea seemed to provide little comfort. They were on a peninsula, for starters. With only three years to rebuild, they most certainly did not have a seafaring fleet. Furthermore, how was he to know if there was anything out to sea besides water? Was it true what they said, that once you reached the edge of the map, you would fall off into the abyss?

That drew his attention to the only part of the continent that did _not_ end in ocean. It was marked as desert land, with a few plateaus pock marking the landscape. Further research showed that no map went beyond this. But surely the end of the world was not at some arbitrary point out in the desert?

The Altean prince stood swiftly, pawing the map off of the table before leaving his study. As he walked down the hall, boots clanking delicately against carpeted floors, he paused briefly at a gaping hole in the castle wall. While it was true that with victory came the spoils of war, there were so few survivors and so many destroyed buildings that repairing the castle seemed…unjust. No; when it was time to decide the priority of repairs, it was city defenses, civilian homes, and then the castle. This meant giant cannon holes, scorched carpeting, smashed family heirlooms, and a slew of arrows buried into the walls. Hell, the castle looked like a pincushion.

"Hey Marth, Marth! Wait up!" Marth paused briefly, and then continued on his way, this time slightly faster. A gloved hand reached out, grabbing him by his dark blue cape and tugging him back. With an exasperated sigh, the prince turned on his heel to glare down at the over excited red head. His 'friendship' with Roy was strained as is. Just two years ago, a rather confused looking fleet of ships had landed at their docks. Apparently, Pherae had also suffered a long period of boredom. With plenty of large ships to spare, Roy had decided to go exploring. Rumors of a dark dragon led him to believe that there was fun to be had on this continent.

Of course, when he met Sheeda…well, at first he had charmed her. After a few more meetings, he discovered that she was going to marry a prince named Marth. She admitted to Roy that, in truth, she felt nothing for the Altean; he was too effeminate. Or Gods' sakes, he wore a tiara and screamed like a girl! Under normal circumstances, Roy would have simply been cocky, taken the girl, and gone home. But, upon meeting the 'girl' prince, he could not go through with it. Marth seemed very cordial, smiling with his eyes more often than his mouth. Sheeda had attempted flirting with Ike, a mercenary who had chosen to tag along with Roy on his adventure. When he turned her down-and in less than a polite way, at that-she claimed her own life.

Marth had been naïve to all of these happening, of course. All that he knew was that Sheeda, his fiancé, had committed suicide because of 'a stranger from another land claiming her heart'. While his rage had cooled after spending some time with the Pheraen, he still had little love for the red head's antics. Two years of peace and no fighting, and yet Roy _was still here_. Why wouldn't he just _leave_?

"What could you _possibly_ want, Roy?" Marth hissed, clenching his teeth.

"I see you have a map of the area…find anything interesting?" At that, the Altean looked as though he may strike Roy, but regained his composure. After a few calculated moments of thought, he sighed, offering the Pheraen a faint smile.

"Actually, I did. I am considering an expedition through the desert." A goofy grin emerged on Roy's face. 'Expedition' meant adventure, which meant 'fun'. Marth remained somewhat amused as he watched the teenager barely contain his excitement.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let me go grab Ike and some of my men and we can head out!" Before Marth could even think of objecting, Roy was running down the hall as fast as he could, his own boots much louder than the Altean's as he hit stone more than carpet.

In truth, he had hoped to organize a proper team, with a years' worth of food and a decent supply of water. But, the more that he thought it over, the more that he realized such a move would be a bad decision. Perhaps a hasty adventure would be safer, after all. Fewer men, less supplies needed. That would leave more supplies for his people, and plenty of soldiers to defend the kingdom, should any of his enemies decide that Altea would be ripe for the taking without Marth to defend it.

In that case…keeping it from Jaegen would be best. The older soldier would _never_ allow Marth to leave with naught more than a handful of soldiers and a pair of foreigners at his side. And if he said that he was leaving to travel out into the desert, in the tiny chance that it would lead to new territory, Jaegen would probably do everything in his power to keep the prince from leaving.

He glanced outside, noticing that Roy had already rushed out there, and was eagerly preparing his horse. Ike, looking mildly grumpy as if he had just been jarred from sleep, was leaning on the stable wall. His horse was always ready to ride (presumably, he had a tendency to piss off people, and needed to be ready to flee should they want him dead).

Marth chuckled at their eagerness, deciding that it was time for him to go as well. A quick step into the throne room, a precarious climb onto the throne, and a shaky hand reaching up earned him the Falchion. Keeping the holy blade in the armory with every other sword just didn't seem right; and sleeping with it in his room seemed a little…odd, so he decided to place it above the throne.

Cursing as it clattered down to the floor and nicked his shoulder, he decided that maybe when he comes back, they should find another place for it.

A swift run to the infirmary (as now he was certain he needed to rush before anyone noticed his -and Falchions'- disappearance), and he quickly rolled up his sleeve to apply a bandage. Speaking of wounds…surely he would be foolish to go without any armor. Hell, a careless mistake with his _own sword _had cut him. What if they ran into trouble? He would feel like a fool if he was the only one injured because he forgot his own custom armor.

Now Marth ran to the armory, quickly grabbing his gold trimmed armor. A slight pause as he pulled the armor over his head – had he really made his _entire outfit_ blue? He shook his head and chuckled: of course he did, it was his favorite color. He headed to the pantry, grabbing an empty sack and swiftly filling it with bread and fruit. The Altean looked about for a jug – any jug, really, and settled on a rather large pot. As it was, it was filled with water. Perfect. That saved him some time.

He ran to the stables, sword secured to his belt. Out of breath, he stared at Ike and Roy. They both seemed a bit surprised that the normally composed prince would look so askew: cape hanging over his shoulder, cheeks slightly flushed from running about like an excited child, tiara tilted to the left on his head. The awkward silence (save for Marth's gasps), was finally interrupted by Ike.

"…Right. So, are we ready?" Marth nodded, and Roy jumped up. Truly, this was a good idea.

* * *

Truly, this was a _bad_ idea.

It had only been a few days, but already they were beginning to regret their decision. It had been years since any of them had even been _near_ a desert, let alone chosen to travel in one, and they all had greatly, _greatly_ underestimated just how hot it could get. But if the heat was unbearable, the cold was far _worse_. Just a few hours of darkness equaled a cold unrivaled, something that none of them had predicted considering how hot it was during the day.

Where the castle had offered great feasts night after night, a shared fruit and slice of bread was all that awaited them when they stopped. Furthermore, rather than drinking the finest of wines until they could no longer see straight, they were rationing water. In their haste, they hadn't even bothered to think that after a week, the fruit would begin to go bad, and after two, all of their food would be past its' prime.

And so, Marth had set to work on two things: adding to the map, and keeping track of their rations. Once their rations reached 50%, they would turn back. No questions asked, they simply could not risk pressing on in the desert; the chances of finding anything besides sand were slim as is.

While the other two expressed great boredom, Marth was utterly fascinated at just how incomplete the map truly had been. The desert had nearly doubled in size since he began mapping it! Surely there was something, _anything_, out here.

Well, they got their wish.

Looming up ahead was a massive ruined temple. From what they could see, there appeared to be two grand statues in front of it (although all they could see were the heads and time worn shoulders from this angle). As they grew closer, it became apparent that there were trees there as well; an oasis! That was a truly good sign; where there were trees, there was either water, or people.

Those hopes were dashed once they reached the desert oasis, however.

The watering hole was long dried up, and the trees themselves seemed barely alive. Aside from a few odd looking crows, it seemed abandoned.

Marth, Roy, and Ike set to work on exploring the oasis, looking for any sign of people.

"Marth, over here!" Marth ran over to Roy's side, expecting something significant. Yet, all that Roy had wanted to show him was some sort of platform. In the center of the platform, three triangles, placed together in such a way that they made a fourth triangle in the center.

"Yes…and?"

"Well, I mean, look at it! It's not worn at all. It looks as good as new." That was true; not so much as a scratch on it. Surely it was not built at the same time as the temple. After all, the temple looked as though one more powerful sandstorm may very well destroy it. If they had been built at the same time, why would only one be maintained?

"This is interesting…but what does it mean?" Roy started to answer, but a quick glance at Marth's face told him that the Altean was merely thinking out loud.

"Hey Ike! You should come…look at this…" The Pheraen trailed off, prodding Marth in the shoulder. The prince turned his head to see what the fuss was, then immediately stood up and drew his sword.

Standing in front of Ike, was a boy. Under any other circumstance, finding a boy would not be such a big deal. But this boy…he looked absolutely_ bizarre_. His eyes were pure black, no iris, and he appeared to be wearing a green _windsock_ on his head. The simple green tunic, and plain, lace-less boots did not cause alarm either. He seemed almost…_cartoony_, like some childish drawing plastered into the real world. This, coupled with the massive hammer he was holding, made him quite the sight.

"Who are you?" Ike's eyes narrowed, more than ready to just punch the kid in the face.

"My name's Link! Now where did you take me, fiend?!" Well, the kid was certainly energetic. Before any fighting could start, however, Marth cleared his throat.

"Well…Link, we did not bring you here. We are merely traveling. This place is just as new to us it is to you. We mean you no harm." Link seemed to relax at this, and then grew extremely excited, jumping about and waving the giant hammer as if it were weightless. After a few minutes of his energetic bouncing, Marth turned to Roy, muttering under his breath, "And I thought _you_ were bad." Roy jabbed an elbow into the Altean's stomach, watching as the kid tired out and fell back on his rear.

"We may as well set up camp here for now…"

* * *

"So, when we beat Gannon's ugly butt, I went home and we had a big party. I went into the forest to go see if any more of Gannon's pig monster cronies were still alive, and there was this huge whirlwind that knocked me out. I woke up here, _and_ I had the baton back. I thought maybe the Gods needed me to go check out these ruins, since the Triforce symbol was right there…but there's nothing in there except some bats and traps." Link grinned at them, having started the conversation by taking out a fire arrow so that they could both see and get some warmth. The genius swordsmen had completely forgotten to bring flint and tinder.

The three swordsmen seemed stunned by the tale. A land that was almost all sea? Barely even 50 people still living? A _talking boat_ that was actually an ancient king? A holy power held by three Goddesses known as the Triforce?

Maybe they should have used Roy's ships to go on a sea adventure.

Then again, if they hadn't, this boy would have been alone out here, and he obviously didn't have any food on him. He did have some soup in a bottle, however, which they immediately shared. Kid seemed very proud of it, after all, and for good reason.

"Well…there appears to be a sandstorm raging out that way. I can see flags out there, but they're very hard to see. Maybe it's a safe way out?" Ike shrugged, squinting to try and make out more of it through the darkness.

"We'll have to wait for that sandstorm to cease. If we just run out there right now, we won't be able to see a damn thing, and we'll get lost. Flags or no, if we got turned around, it could get bad." Link, on the other hand, didn't seem worried at all. He pulled out a telescope and peered out into the desert, a huge grin on his face.

"I can see a building!" Before any of them could stop him, he took off running into the sandstorm. Not more than a few seconds later, he came running back. Link skidded to a halt, a _very_ confused look on his face.

"How…I was running straight forward…" Now they all were confused, peering out into the sandstorm.

"Maybe you have to go from flag to flag…" Now that they knew that the sandstorm was safe enough for a child to run around in, they all grew more confident. Deciding to walk with their horses instead of riding them (it just wouldn't be fair to poor Link), they ventured out.

It was slow going. A combination of Ike's sharp eyes and Link's telescope eventually got them to the building in question.

"What a disappointment." Ike seemed disgusted, kicking at the small building. While there were two torches within it, neither was lit. No one had used it recently.

"Well, I'm not going back through that sandstorm again." Roy was pulling at his armor, noting that a rather large amount of sand had built up under it and was now _pouring_ out with every tug and shake of the metal.

"Alright. It looks as though the sandstorm is only affecting that area. I can quite clearly see a city not too far from here; hopefully it is more inhabited than the temple and this…_hut_." Marth crinkled his nose in disgust, obviously not enjoying this discovery as much as the discovery of the temple.

* * *

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." While they had found the sandstorm to be somewhat annoying, this was downright _ridiculous_. It looked to be a river of sand. They were maybe ten feet away from the city, and there was a massive quicksand trap between them. It didn't seem possible to walk around it, either.

"Alright…can everyone's horse jump?" Ike and Roy nodded, to which Marth nodded back at them.

"We'll have to jump it, then. No second chances; if your horse cannot make it across, we won't-." Ike jumped clear over Marth's head, his horse landing neatly on the other side. The Altean huffed, and then got on his own horse.

As Roy successfully made it across, Marth found himself worrying about Link. The kid couldn't jump _this_; he didn't even _have_ a horse. Would his own horse be able to make the jump, and if so, could his horse handle the extra weight?

Before he could even suggest this to Link, however, the toon had already fired a truly _odd_ device. It attached to the flag on the other side with a 'ching!' and he flew across, landing rather gracefully on his feet.

"What the hell was _that_?!" Link looked back at Marth with a huge grin, waving the longshot.

"This is my longshot! I can use it to get to really far away places!" Marth shook his head, amazed that such a device even existed, and then leapt over to where the others were patiently waiting.

Of course his horse made it; a pedigree royal horse was the best of the best, after all. Even so, he didn't miss the smirk on Ike's face. Arrogant ass; Marth couldn't _stand_ that man.

"Alright, let's investigate this place, shall we?"

* * *

It looked as though someone had scooped out the mountain. While there was a wall made of whatever ore the mountain was made of, there were two wide open spaces: a path leading deeper into the mountain pass, and an open area with many large crates. The buildings they had seen from a distance were, in fact, carved straight out of the mountain. Everything seemed to be a ruddy color; something that made Marth despair (not so much as a speck of blue anywhere? What sort of people would live here?). Open windows, open doors; it was pitch black in most of them, but there was a warm glow coming from a few of the buildings. Even so, they had fallen for the possibility of inhabitants several times already. They weren't about to assume anything.

"I think it's deserted…wait." Marth's eyes narrowed, as he spotted someone. Very tan, strange clothing and a weapon. Definitely a woman. Definitely a guard.

"Alright…let's take things slowly…" He trailed off as Link went charging at her, yelling bloody murder. As all of the other guards came out, it became obvious that they just _could not_ survive this battle. Until…

"Link? Is that you?" The toon stopped, looking up with wide eyes. Another one of these strange women, weaponless and clearly the leader, was looking down at Link with equally wide eyes.

"Who the heck are you?"

"Link…it is I, Nabooru. What has happened to you? Why do you look this way?" After a long silence (as none of the swordsman, toon included, knew what was going on), Nabooru shook her head, eyes narrowing.

"We will settle this right away. Come, we go to Hyrule Castle. Princess Zelda will know what to make of this. You! Fetch Link a horse!"

* * *

"Guys…I think I know where we are." Marth looked at Link wearily, trying to keep his voice down so that this strange 'Nabooru' would not hear.

"Care to enlighten us?" Link nodded, looking down at the horse he was riding. He wasn't doing too badly for it being his first time on horseback, but it was still extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

"The legend went that the Hero of Time defeated Gannon a long time ago, but when Gannon came back, the Hero was not there, so the Gods cried, covering the land with ocean. Gannon had no land to rule, so they defeated him this way…but at great cost. He finally mustered up the strength to raise the land and rule again, right when I came along to beat him." He paused to catch his breath, glancing at the three swordsmen. None of them seemed to get it, so he continued.

"The Hero's name was Link…and the land that he saved was Hyrule." At that, their eyes widened, and a pained look came onto the toon's face.

"Guys…I think we're in the past." A perplexed look came upon Marth's face at that.

"That cannot be…we were traversing a desert when we came to this place. There was never a moment when we could have traveled back in time…" At this realization, came even more horror. If they had mistaken this Link for their Link, perhaps their hero was gone. If he was gone, then would Gannon be returning to conquer Hyrule? Surely if the Gods raised the sea level, Altea would be affected. It had only been a few days away, after all.

"If that is the case, we must be certain to come to Hyrule's aid. Failure to do so will result in the destruction of this land…and my own." At this, Link gave a shocked cry, flailing about slightly on the horse. Nabooru looked back with an arched eyebrow, wondering what they were talking about.

"W-wait! You can't change the timeline! I mean, w-what if we do that and I'm never born or something?"

"Do not be greedy. Even _if_ you were not born because of this, thousands of lives would be saved, _at the very least_." They all fell silent at this. Did any of them have the right to choose? If they interfered and saved this land, would the result be better or worse than what would have happened? Arguably, the people born in Link's time would not be born if Gannon was stopped. Was it within their jurisdiction to decide that their lives were more important than the lives of his people?

"Time travel's confusing, guys." Marth shot Roy a glare for the comment, and at that, Nabooru made a confused noise.

"Just where _are_ you people from, anyway?" They all fell silent again. Nabooru huffed and looked back at where she was going.

"Hyrule Castle Town remains closed until sunrise. We will hopefully arrive there after that." At that, Marth, Roy, and Ike audibly groaned. They hadn't slept in two days. It was already rough enough; once they got there, they would have to explain why they were even there to some Princess, and now they had to help this strange boy from the future, too.

Well, it's not like they could just leave the kid. They did want an adventure after all, right?

* * *

**TBC**

**That concludes the first chapter. XD Let me know what you guys think (I'm going with the idea of all of the characters eventually meeting up in some sort of odd way). Yes, I know that Roy is not in Brawl. Bear with me, there's a reason why he's there.  
**


	2. Hyrule

**Woo, been a while. Long while, in fact. Just ended up being so busy that I eventually completely forgot about this story! Bad Saengen, bad! xD**

**Anywho…let's answer the reviews, shall we?**

**Principessa Dell'Opera** - Glad you enjoyed it xD

**Wawert's Lazy Brother**- We'll see what happens, won't we? :3

**Things are gonna get a little…weird in this chapter, I think.**

**

* * *

**

Something was wrong. This couldn't possibly be Hyrule Castle. It couldn't even be Hyrule _field_.

"Guys...this isn't right." Link's hushed voice once again drew Marth's attention, this time too quiet for even Roy or Ike to hear. The castle loomed ominously in the distance, torches flickering in the dead of night. Despite the worn appearance of the stone walls, the drawbridge appeared to be brand new. Had it been broken recently? Marth had never seen a drawbridge so immaculate, it must have been made only a few months ago.

Yet again, the strange triangular symbols-the Triforce-glistened brightly. It made little sense for them to appear so clearly from so far away. Perhaps they truly were holy. Was it those Goddesses who blessed Marth in battle, had his people been wrong? He snapped from his reverie, glancing at Link to let him know that he heard him.

"During my quest, the King brought me to Hyrule. This isn't...this isn't how it looked. Unless Gannon somehow changed the entire country to have lots more mountains, and, and a massive bridge separating the castle from anything else, and, and...everything is just _wrong_!" Marth's eyes narrowed, shifting to stare at the strange woman. What did she call herself, Nabooru? It was quite possible that this was a trap.

"If what you say is true, Link, then we will need to be most careful. Expect an ambush." The energetic child nodded back at home, eyes just as narrow. Surely if anything happened both Roy and Ike would be just as prepared to leap into action.

"I will advise you, we are not permitted to bring our horses into Hyrule Castle Town. Hopefully you know how to call your horses to you, as there are no public stables. Lon Lon Ranch may have allowed you to keep your horse there, if not for the inconvenient time." Nabooru chuckled lightly, ignoring the three sets of eyes now glaring at her. Was she really suggesting that none of them could control their horses?

Link seemed even more distressed. Marth didn't need to know why; a quick gaze at the toon's face told him what was amiss. The town. Those walls, they'd all assumed were castle walls. Apparently the walls were for a town in front of the castle. A town that Link had never seen. If an entire town were to simply _vanish_ in the future, with no evidence that it had ever existed, what chance did _any_ of the places they'd seen have of surviving?

All at once, Marth felt immense pity for the young man. He couldn't imagine it; meeting with your ancestors? Ancestors that you knew were going to die? Ancestors that were going to die pleading for your help? Where was _their_ hero?

"The sun rises. We timed our journey well." Nabooru seemed quite pleased, casting a sultry smile back at the adventurers. Her smile vanished completely only once she faced away from them. Ike and Roy seemed content, if not exhausted. Link, in his odd state, was exceptionally expressive. Both he and Marth looked deep in thought, and so very miserable. Clearly, they knew something that they were withholding.

They all dismounted, watching as the drawbridge mechanism somehow operated on its own. The gears were all internal, suggesting that perhaps someone was hidden away that threw the switch. It nevertheless was quite inspiring to the four swordsmen. Someone would need a clock of sorts to know when to do this, apparently only changing its position for the sunrise and sunset. While they were impressed, they would be far more impressed if they realized that this happened at _precisely_ the same time every day.

* * *

Time seemed disturbingly flawed within the town. Marth found that the sunrise seemed to hang quite suspiciously, as if the sun itself could not continue its march. Such a thing was unfeasible. Perhaps it was a trick of his eyes. Perhaps the sun was continuing on ordinarily.

He hoped it was a trick of his eyes.

The town looked quite similar to any number of villages within Altea's borders. Quaint and idyllic. Link's confused look told him that this would not be ordinary in the future. What a strange thought to have; to be confronted with the knowledge that everything you know will be gone. Marth trembled faintly, staying back with the cartoon. Roy and Ike were beginning to sense that something was not right; they constantly stole glances back at him.

"Nabooru! Please, we have discovered a most troubling problem!" Nabooru looked quite relieved to see Zelda, rushing forward from the group. She bowed politely, waving a hand back at Link.

"Yes, I understand entirely. I found Link in _this_ state wandering with these swordsmen!" Zelda appeared to almost go cross eyed, turning her attention sharply away from the toon.

"Nay, that was not the troubling problem. I discovered Link in an entirely different state. _This is far more troubling!_" Cerulean eyes darted once again to Link, causing him to yelp slightly and back away. Seeing Zelda brought back fleeting memories of Tetra; the resemblance was uncanny. And yet, she was so _tall_ and different, just as the swordsmen. Just as this entire world.

But what surprised the entire team was when a boy stepped out from behind Zelda. He brushed a honey lock from his face, staring with wide icy eyes at the toon. If he were wearing the white tights and white undershirt, they would be identical. If only he were a cartoon as well.

The two Links stared at each other with unsurpassed horror. What could one do when faced with a doppelganger? The young Link behind Zelda knew what to do; he'd been forced to slay his shadow. But this Link baffled his senses. So false, and yet an aura of good radiated from him.

With an echoed groan, both Links fainted.

All at once, a din of steel being unsheathed filled the marketplace. Nabooru stood with her scimitar in hand, glaring at the three swordsmen and their unconscious friend. The guards had poured out from every corner of the town, surrounding them in a circle. Marth's hand rested on Falchion's hilt, eyes focused on the princess past the swordswoman. Roy and Ike both had their weapons out, hurling insults at the pressing crowd of guards. Throughout the cacophony, his eyes never left Zelda.

"We need to speak." Her eyes narrowed at his plea. If they were truly just travelers, then they were surely peaceful; even with weapons drawn they were refusing to strike first. If they were pawns of Gannondorf, then Link was here to dispatch of them. The Hero of Time would not be stopped by puppets.

She raised her right hand. As if she herself were a Goddess, each Hylian around them lowered their weapons and backed away. Even Nabooru sheathed her scimitar, although her eyes burned with distrust. Marth's fingers ghosted away from his own sword, breathing a sigh of relief. He did not wish for his first move in this foreign land to be one of wanton murder.

"Very well. Come." She turned almost immediately, dismissing Nabooru so quickly that none were the wiser to even argue it.

* * *

"Amazing. We'd never bothered to explore past the Spirit Temple. We had always...assumed that Hyrule was all there was." They stood awkwardly, watching as Zelda paced. The courtyard they were in, while beautiful, raised many questions. Why was the only entrance so convoluted and hidden? Why was there a peep hole to spy on the throne room? Who were those _people_ in the paintings?

"You thought the world to end?" Marth raised a delicate eyebrow, his question ending her pacing immediately.

"Of _course_! If we strayed too far in the desert, we were turned around! The fact that you came from that very desert confuses us all." He shrank back at her sudden aggression, surprised at how sharp her tongue could be. Just as quickly, however, a warm smile appeared on her face.

The Links were back.

Marth turned to face the two, Ike and Roy quickly following suit. He wondered if Zelda would believe what the toon Link had to say. These too-white stone walls indicated that this, too, had been freshly rebuilt. Fresh grass had been sown, slightly muddied hot water reached fathomless depths in the moat surrounding the castle, young saplings had swayed in the breeze...from what Marth could gather, Gannon had struck recently. They, too, were rebuilding from a tragedy. Could there be a connection?

"First of all, we need to differentiate between you two. You are Link's child form...therefore you shall be Young Link. You appear to be rather...toon-like, so you shall therefore be Toon Link." The two did not seem to mind their names, apparently having become fast friends in their brief time spent together.

"Zel, you have to see this!" Young Link's surprised excitement brought confusion to the princess, watching as Toon Link approached her. When he unsheathed his sword, however, she audibly gasped. Almost instinctively, a gloved hand delicately covered her mouth.

"The Master Sword? But...h-how?" The toon's mouth flew open, soon erupting with the tale passed down in legend. How Hyrule came to rest under a vast ocean, how Gannon returned to raise Hyrule and conquer it, how he claimed the Master Sword with the help of the King and reconstructed the Triforce of Courage. Much to her surprise, even when Young Link raised his hand to show his own piece, Toon Link had the same thing.

"Then...what you speak is the truth. _Incredible_. This surely explains why Young Link is here, in the present and not the past. Time itself has unraveled." At this, Marth stepped forward, breaking the three from their reverie.

"Yes, but what does that _mean_? How did it happen? How can we fix it?" Zelda looked thoughtful, turning away from them. If time was unraveling, then why was Hyrule the center of this?

"It must be the work of Gannondorf. He must somehow be affecting time. To what end, however, I am uncertain." Marth nodded his head slowly, accepting this. The ability to manipulate time? If not for the evidence he'd seen so far, he would not have believed it. Yet, if Gannondorf was so powerful...

Marth felt intimidated.

"Zel! What the hell is going on?!" Zelda turned swiftly, eliciting yet another gasp.

There stood Link, in his adult form. His eyes widened at the sight of two Links, one which he couldn't even begin to conceive. The Master Sword lay bare on the floor, and yet weighed heavily on his back.

"I tried to return to Ordon, and found all of Hyrule to be in disarray! Even the castle is wrong! If I did not see you with my own eyes, I would believe something terrible to have happened!" Her eyes widened at what he said.

"But...I have never heard of Ordon..." Now, all eyes were on Adult Link, realizing that Young Link was the "real" Link.

* * *

Their talks had now filed into a massive dining hall, sharing tales from each of their far different worlds. The Adult Link told stories of the Twilight realm, of Midna, and of his travels throughout Hyrule. Toon Link spoke of sailing around the world in what was literally Zelda's _father_, and how he controlled the winds with a baton that no one else had ever heard of, despite how it was used in the legend of how Gannon was first defeated.

Roy spoke of Pharae, and of all that he left behind in the name of adventure. Marth found himself far less interested, choosing to ignore most of what Roy said in the name of gazing at the many impressive tapestries surrounding them. Were they all elves? Ike's mercenary tales bored him as well, although the way that time was set up in Ike's stories told him that perhaps Ike, too, was from the future. How had he missed that before?

Marth told his tale as well, noting that Adult Link appeared to be genuinely interested. Zelda had been quick to assume that each Link was evil; yet the Links themselves seemed quite cordial and open to friendship. Perhaps they were naive.

Young Link told his story of discovering that his childhood was a lie, that he was the Hero of Time. He spoke in great detail about how difficult it was to defeat Gannondorf; a pressing reminder of just how challenging it would be to stop him once again. But when he began to speak of Termina and Majora's Mask, Zelda interrupted him.

"You _fell_ into a different dimension?" He nodded slowly, beginning to understand just how dangerous such a thing could be. Now all eyes were on him, trying to figure it out.

"It sounds like that's the problem, then." Ike leaned back in his chair, ignoring Zelda's protest as he clanged his filthy boots on the table.

"I mean, if we all appeared here after he jumped to a different dimension, then that's gotta be what caused it. So...how do we fix it?" Silence permeated the room. No one knew what to do. If Young Link returned, would everything go back to normal?

"I have to go back. If I do, maybe everything will fix itself." Marth stole a glance at Toon Link, both of them having the same thought.

"Princess Zelda, I _strongly_ disagree." Her sharp eyes settled on the blue prince, frowning deeply. He raised both hands, shaking his head rapidly.

"I'm serious. Think about Toon Link's legend. _The hero never returned_! If Young Link goes back, he won't be able to come back. We'll disappear, and then Gannon will swoop down and destroy the world. Surely if we work together, we can find a way to make this work." But at this, Toon and Adult alike protested, surprising the entire table. Finally, after exchanging looks, the Adult form spoke.

"Yeah, but if our worlds aren't here, who can protect them? Do they even exist anymore? I mean, I'm all for saving Hyrule...but not if it means two more Hyrule's are destroyed!" Zelda rubbed her forehead, groaning in pain. This wasn't as simple as the Ocarina of Time. They couldn't just play a song and fix everything.

"So...let's just beat the bad guy." Marth cast a surprised look at Roy. It was so simple...and yet...it made sense. Zelda, Ike, and the Links clearly did not follow.

"No...Roy's right. If it's Gannon that is a threat to this place, we should defeat him. Against all of us, he will be easy to kill. We can beat him, and then Young Link can return to Termina and fix the flow of time. Without Gannon to destroy the world, it'll be safe here." But Zelda shook her head, forcing Marth to frown.

"It would be safer for everyone to remain here, in this world. Gannon may no longer be a problem here, but Adult Link is clearly from a different dimension as well as Termina. If there is no Triforce of Courage in those different places, Gannon would only be able to conquer the world here. As he said, Zelda from that world has a sword; and Midna is perfectly capable of raising an army against Gannon. Tetra is quite capable of fighting Gannon; she helped you defeat him!" Marth saw why she wanted them to stay. If they were to leave...Hyrule would have no protector. Any villain could come in and take over. If it weren't Gannon, it would be someone else. Their population was far too small, they couldn't dream to build an army to defend themselves. Not in the short term. Altea could do well without him. Hyrule would die without Link. Judging from their history, it _did_ die every time that Link was gone, until he was reincarnated and returned to restore peace.

"This is a nightmare." Ike closed his eyes, heaving a sigh. There seemed to be no direct solution.

"Princess Zelda! Come quick!" The panicked guard's voice was a full pitch higher than normal. The dining hall was soon empty, save for a few chairs crashing to the floor. They full well expected to see Gannon charging at them. A dark army at the gates. The sun being swallowed by shadow. The dead rising to kill them. Marth idly expected dragons.

They _weren't_ expecting to see a giant crater in the field surrounding the castle. They _definitely_ weren't expecting to see a giant bird made of steel burning in the center of that crater. Nor were they expecting its' back to pop open, with an injured man covered in _fur_ staggering out. It was as if a fox had decided one day to stand on its hind legs and wear clothing.

* * *

**Author's Note: Gonna be a hell of a culture shock. I vote for Marth's brain exploding XD**


End file.
